[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-lunar-curse-a-second-chance-with-alpha-drave":3,"chapter-the-lunar-curse-a-second-chance-with-alpha-drave-the-lunar-curse-a-second-chance-with-alpha-drave-chapter-471":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Lunar Curse: A Second Chance With Alpha Draven",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},924043,1212,"Chapter 471: She Hasn’t Given Up","the-lunar-curse-a-second-chance-with-alpha-drave-chapter-471",471,"\u003Cp>[Meredith].\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eventually, Dennis led us back toward the main house, taking us up the marble steps and into the west wing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the first floor, he pushed open a pair of tall glass doors that led to a wide balcony overlooking the lower grounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A long seating arrangement waited for us—comfortable cream sofas, low tables, and platters of fruit, pastries, and frosted drinks freshly set by servants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We all settled in immediately. Vivian leaned into Levi’s side. Oscar claimed a seat with a relieved sigh. Wanda sat next to Vivian with her legs elegantly crossed, her posture immaculate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Draven took the spot beside me; his hand lightly brushed my lower back before he reached for a drink.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We ate, refreshed, and chatted lightly until I felt the tug of fresh air pulling me. So, I stood and walked to the balcony rail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The breeze was cool, lifting strands of my hair. Below, the estate stretched out in calm, orderly lines of stone paths and forest borders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a moment, I let myself breathe. But the soft click of footsteps approaching made my shoulders stiffen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t turn. Then, Wanda came to stand beside me. Not too close. Not too far. Just close enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her presence pressed like a blade sheathed in velvet—quiet, elegant, but undeniably sharp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I kept my eyes forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You are so tense,\" she murmured lightly. \"Relax, Meredith. I won’t push you over the balcony.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something about her statement riled me up, so I turned my head slightly, just enough to meet her gaze. She was smiling softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What do you want?\" I asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wanda’s eyes met mine. Then, she softened her voice just for me. \"I underestimated you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A humourless scoff escaped me. \"You’re just now realizing that?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh, no,\" she said, the corners of her lips curving faintly. \"You’ve shown me that several times. Today was simply another reminder.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I nodded, looking back out at the grounds. \"Good. I hope you stay updated with the reminders.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I will,\" she murmured. \"But things just became interesting.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something cold and prickling ran down my spine. I turned to her fully this time, my brows narrowing. \"And what does that mean?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her smile deepened—still soft, still outwardly kind, still perfectly wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It means,\" she whispered, \"that I have decided you’re an opponent worth my time.\" She let the words linger like perfume, then slowly added, \"So... I will keep you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My breath stilled. ’Keep me? As what? A rival? A challenge? A placeholder until she destroyed me?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her eyes glimmered—not with affection, not with sisterly camaraderie, but with something sharp, twisted, and quietly thrilling for her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without waiting for my response, Wanda turned, smoothed her tunic, and walked elegantly back toward the others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She sat beside Vivian as if nothing had happened, accepting a drink from a servant with the calm composure of someone who hadn’t just issued a thinly veiled threat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I remained by the railing. My heartbeat was steady, but my mind was not. It kept replaying three statements.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’I underestimated you.’ ’You are worth my time.’ ’I will keep you.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instantly, pieces clicked together. Wanda hadn’t softened. She had neither grown nor chosen to surrender her obsession with Draven.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had simply shifted strategies as I had suspected. She was a more patient predator now—a smiling one, for that matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And those last words...\"I will keep you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A chill sliced down my spine as I came to understand what she meant by that. Wanda had, at some point, intended the opposite. To remove me. Erase me. Eliminate the ’problem.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And now? She was adapting, studying and preparing something new.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wanda wasn’t just jealous. She was unhinged in a measured, controlled, terrifying way. Beautiful on the outside, but inside, a fire fed by obsession and delusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What new scheme will she create?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only thing I knew for sure was this... Wanda had not given up on Draven, and she never would.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I spent a few moments by myself before returning to my position next to Draven, who naturally placed his hand on my thigh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>---\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the light refreshments dwindled and the sun slipped lower across the estate grounds, the atmosphere naturally softened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Conversations quieted, and even Dennis stopped teasing long enough to notice Levi glancing at the time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s getting late,\" Levi finally said, rising from his seat. Vivian followed with a polite nod, smoothing her dress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wanda stood last. Her movements were effortless, graceful—every part of her composed in that unsettling new way I had begun to recognize and distrust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Draven nodded at Levi. \"We will walk you out.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, everyone followed alongside Draven, leaving the warm balcony behind as we made our way toward the front courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cool evening breeze brushed past us, and for a moment, everything felt deceptively peaceful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A servant already had Levi’s car prepared at the entrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vivian turned first and curtsied to me. \"Luna Meredith, it was a pleasure meeting you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I nodded politely. \"Safe travels.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Wanda stepped forward. The smile she wore was soft, warm... practised. Nothing about it was real.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Luna Meredith,\" she said sweetly, \"thank you for today. I hope we can gather like this again.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I kept my expression composed. \"Of course,\" I replied. Though in my head, I never wanted to hang out with her again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wanda’s smile sharpened—not visibly, but just enough for me to feel it like the edge of a blade pressing against silk. Then she dipped her head and walked to the car as if she hadn’t spent months trying to destroy me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She even looked back and smiled again before getting inside the car.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I almost laughed. I preferred the old Wanda. At least her hatred didn’t wear perfume and pretend to be polite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, the engine started, and the car rolled down the driveway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did I breathe out quietly. Though I knew something was wrong. Very wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wanda’s sudden sweetness wasn’t kindness. It wasn’t acceptance. It was pure calculation. And whatever she was planning next... I could feel it tightening like a thread around my ribs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wanda hadn’t given up on Draven. And she hadn’t given up on removing me.\u003C\u002Fp>",1028,"2026-06-03T06:41:07.526Z","2026-06-03T06:41:13.871Z",1,"novelbin.me","99966bc49d0c410723dc3c37bca97821392bffbde7235b82c8ee1fa4873ef66d","the-lunar-curse-a-second-chance-with-alpha-drave-chapter-472","the-lunar-curse-a-second-chance-with-alpha-drave-chapter-470",685,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-lunar-curse-a-second-chance-with-alpha-drave-cover.jpg"]